Mix and match agencies/certs?

[boulderjohn]

My cave instructor said he was going to try to get qualified to teach that.

Yes, but I've never met anybody teaching that. You can't be a PADI cave instructor without already being a certified cave instructor from some other agency. So you probably want the card from that other agency...it will be more recognizable.

My NSS-CDS cave instructor was one of the authors of the PADI cave diving specialty, and the specialty was brand new when I earned my NSS-CDS certification. The requirements for the two certifications were pretty much identical, so he asked me if I wanted the PADI certification, too. I said "sure." I have not presented it anywhere so far.

 

[ChuckP]

Is there any reason not to mix and match agencies for different certs? I'm PADI OW certified, say I find an advanced OW class that's from another agency that will customize the class to what I want (more deep dives, and perhaps just more days and more training). Does it matter if my AOW isn't PADI then I do rescue with padi and so on?

Thanks

Before you start any AOW training, have a plan as to how you will finish it, this applies to getting the actual cert and continuing your education.

PADI will recognize you as AOW with 20 logged dives, documented deep and navigation dives and two certifications beyond OW - they are just recognizing it and allowing you to advance on to rescue diver.....

PADI AOW is a class by itself, if you took Deep Diver thru SSI, it doesn't count toward your PADI AOW.

SSI AOW is much more involved than PADI - you must complete 4 specialties for the certification. PADI and other agencies will recognize SSI AOW.

SSI is more money verses PADI for AOW but you get much more instructor time with SSI.

Which one is better??? That's mixed opinions, as a PADI instructor, I was taught to teach a very thorough AOW class, I teach a lot more than the bare requirements. I do like the SSI approach because you just have more in water time with the instructor - which if you took the specialty courses with PADI you'd also have. IMO, two bare minimum AOW divers sitting on a bench with 25 dives each, one is SSI and the other is PADI - I'd lean towards the SSI as being better prepared (in theory) because they've just had more instruction time. A good instructor is teaching raw diving no matter what class they are teaching and it so so much depends on the instructor.

I did SSI OW thru Rescue Diver, switched over to PADI at DM and moved on to instructor. My SSI instructor, knowing what I know now was very lacking but that is one instructor and doesn't define the agency.

The key is, finish what you start, one doesn't transfer to the other and most of all, it's about the relationship between you and the instructor.

 

[rhwestfall]

NAUI's Master Diver is a specific class, it is different than everyone else's.

Yes, and no... Correct is is different, but not "specific". The instruction and dives can be as specified by the shop teaching the course, and tailored to "the diving you would be doing", which the shop I used considered diving here at home in the Great Lakes region. As an example, the one I took was deep (including a simulated maximum recreational limit dive in a chamber), cold/deep/repetitive, night river drift, search and recovery, boat/wreck/mapping, navigation, equipment knowledge, selection and care, and some others I don't recall at this time without going back to my class notes and logs...

They didn't let you pick what you wanted to do for the certification....

 

[lairdb]

Rather than mixing agencies, mix instructors. You will get varying perspectives and hear about different experiences, varying views on dive gear and varying philosophies on a number of different dive related issues.

This.

Also, unless you like plastic cards, you can hire an instructor for coaching and possibly get more than by following a course standard. I like James Blackman's take on specialties: Essential Access, Add-On, and B.S.

And also Zombie Apocalypse Diver.

Where's the course outline for that? I might be able to test out of that one.

 

[MichaelMc]

NAUI MSD is specific in that it has a (thick) textbook unique to it, test and required dive types that are not included in other classes. Of the eight dives, five are of required types (see below) and three are elective types.

From earlier threads on this topic:

NAUI Master diver was designed as everything NAUI felt their diver leaders, AI/DM/Instructor, should know that did not involve actual leading or teaching. So all the physics, physiology, water and rescue skills. There are some small differences now, but according to Thalassamania, who apparently designed the class, that was the original intent.

Actually NAUI's Master Scuba Diver is a specific class that is 23 hours of academics and 8 dives including Emergency/Rescue, Deep/SimDeco, LimVis/Night, Nav, Search/Recovery, + 3 elective dives. Naui rescue is a separate class that Master does not actually require, though Naui requires rescue skills from OW on, and Master requires AOW. Master was apparently meant as all the leadership content except the leading/teaching parts. (Though except the stand alone rescue class itself; and some personal water skills have been harder in DM than Master. Master, rescue, and now leadership prep FIT, are prerequisites for AI/DM, plus Nitrox, O2, and professional diver first aid)

 

[broncobowsher]

I've had a class and the instructor asked me the question, what card do you want? Same class, just which places does he file the paperwork at.

 

[pauldw]

Where's the course outline for that? I might be able to test out of that one.

I don’t know about doing that. Zombie Apocalypse Diver was a rare class in that it’s fun. Apart from people doing the costume or makeup for the dive, and later getting a card with your zombified face on it, there’s trying to find and recover zombie gas from the bottom while your partner fends off zombies with an air ring gun, and other things. An actually fun class is a nice change!

 

[Bob DBF]

SSI AOW is much more involved than PADI - you must complete 4 specialties for the certification. PADI and other agencies will recognize SSI AOW.

It's a matter of terminology, SSI advanced Adventurer is equivalent to PADI, and other agencies, AOW. To be technical, SSI AOW can be taken without meeting the requirements of what is considered to be the AOW course, which is one dive from 5 different specialties, and must include a deep and a navigation dive. SSI AOW can be achieved without taking the deep or navigation specialties, and their version of Rescue can be used as one specialty.

Personally, it seems like a good marketing plan, as it will create more revenue by the confusion of terms to novice divers.

 

[boulderjohn]

Personally, it seems like a good marketing plan, as it will create more revenue by the confusion of terms to novice divers.

Now, I don't know if that is the marketing plan for that specific set of courses, but SSI does in fact use that marketing plan (confusion of terms to novice divers) in other areas. When the dive shop I was then working for switched to SSI, the then owner of SSI (still in charge) gave us a week-long marketing workshop, and that concept was explained. When potential customers came into the store, he said we should call the equipment being introduced (regulators, etc.) by the names suggested by SSI (air delivery device or something like that--can't remember them all) rather than the names everyone else uses. That way, he explained, if they have gone to you first and then go somewhere else while shopping around, when the other stores don't know what they are talking about, it will seem as if the other stores are ignorant. I don't know if that actually works, but that was his belief.

 

[Capt Jim Wyatt]

Air Delivery Device..